Darbey Macaque
"What good is a person if they refuse to do good? No good at all, if you're asking me. Then again, I'm just a monkey, what do I know?" History There are few places on the planetary jewel that is Oustomia that is so full of life yet so full of death as the [[Bricca Vale|'Bricca Vale']]. Darbey's tribe of Orang-Pendak called that place their home. The trees and jungles were their citadels and farms as naturally as humans turned to their castles and fields. They were a simple people, but they were first and foremost satisfied with everything in their lives. They always had enough to survive, and sometimes to celebrate surviving. The dangers of the Vale were only a fact of their existence, they learned to deal with them, and were not distraught when one of their number was caught unawares. The life around them was their source as well as their grave. Darbey could not have been happier than when he was swinging from tree to tree with his friends. Like all good things, their natural lifestyle had to come to an end. Despite their animalistic tendencies, they were, in fact, sapient and creative creatures capable of unique thought and critical decision making. None outside of the small stretch of forest they called home cared for them, both a protection and a weakness. When the wizards and alchemists came to claim their land for experimentation, they were powerless before them. Those that resisted were captured first, and without a single casualty on the part of the invaders. The young and impetuous Darbey found himself among those first caged. The unfortunate Orang-Pendak unable to flee into the deeper depths found themselves the new test subjects of a small cult dedicated to the improvement of their races. To accomplish their goals they were more than willing to sacrifice the lives of a few simians, even if they could talk and plead and beg and cry. The brutality he endured under their hands was unimaginable. He knew well the cruelty that lies within nature, the heartless killers that preyed upon the weak, feasting wherever their claws and fangs ended a life. This was entirely different. They caused pain and suffering for no purpose beyond their own amusement. Every time he screamed to the heavens for relief, they caused yet another unbearable pain. To this day, his body is covered in the countless scars inflicted upon him despite the many curative spells and poultices applied to him. The experimentation he was the focus of centered around creating strength by breaking the body over and over, forcing it to regrow. A weaker man would have become a mindless being of pure rage, or a cowering shell of what they once were. Darbey became neither. In fact, he never lost his sense of humor, always making jokes or offering condolences to the scientists. When they were focused on him, they spent less time torturing the others was his thought. He spent seven years of his life like this, his body the living proof of his interment. The experiments proved successful. Using an ancient rune magic long since thought expunged from the surface of the world, they wrought upon his flesh countless rituals to grant him more power. Each one carried with it the increased risk of his organs expiring from the strain, or his mind revolting with the corrupting influences. His body became capable of regenerating at an absurd rate. Every time a bone was broken, a bruise inflicted, or artery severed, his body would mend the wound in seconds. It came to the point where his captors believed he was immortal, and so strove to find the limits of his regenerative prowess. Limbs were severed, eyes were gouged out, even his organs were destroyed. Nothing stopped him. Darbey started to become immune to the pain caused to him, to the extent that he was cracking one liners while his liver was being torn out. That did not allow him to escape his bonds, however, and so he was unable to leave that place. As is the nature of such experiments, they took it too far in the end. Deciding that Darbey was their ultimate test subject, other projects were canceled to rededicate their resources. Darbey overheard snippets of their conversation, so as far as he was concerned he had won a major victory in his personal battle against their tribe's oppressors. The experiments performed on his body now drifted away from the rune magic, they were satisfied it could be applied to their soldiers and leaders to grant immortality and eternal youth. Now they entered the area of bio-magic production, or quite literally, turning the humanoid body into a magical power plant. It was the dream of would-be conquerors around the world. An army of brainwashed super soldiers capable of performing devastating magics using their own natural reserves, annihilating enemy armies, overwhelming enemy spell casters, able to adapt to any environment. Combined with the healing power of the ancient rune magic, this advancement in magical theory would grant them nigh unlimited power. The only thing that stood in their way was the little matter of time, after all, their test dummy was already immortal. The tests commenced. Darby thought he had seen the worst that could be done to any monkey. He was wrong. The battery of tests he went through were reminiscent of weapon development. The only difference is, they reused the target after every spell. Every fireball, lightning bolt, ice spear, acid wave, or magic missile directed towards him struck true. The mages and alchemists devised countless new ways to use and combine their spells and potions in order to trigger the correct internal response from their "patient". The runes scarred into his marrow were indeed running amuck from the constant jolts of magic for hours every day. They slowly absorbed bits of it all. Each new injury inflicted granted him a little more power, not that he knew how to access it. All he knew is his body was getting hotter, uncomfortably warm at first, but slowly becoming insufferable whenever he was coherent enough to notice it. The runes on his body were glowing red with the heat he was producing. The researchers were delighted with this result. They felt the were close to a breakthrough, they had nearly determined the way to infuse the average soldier with incredible magical power. Darbey had spent these years trapped in a cell, bolted and chained to a wall, not once having really understood why he was having to go through all this, why they had taken his tribe from their homes, why their way of life had been destroyed. And he would never find out the truth. His dark savior came to call on him in the final hour as the last records were being collected and compiled for submission to whatever foul government they were working for. This was the beginning of Darbey's new life, and his friendship with [[Malakai Gaunt|'Uqion Yujin']]. The man and his organization of thieves cleared out the laboratory, freeing any prisoners who had somehow survived their ordeal, and eliminating all traces of that forbidden ritual that had inspired years of criminal abuse and negligence, as well as murder and genocide. Sadly, and much to Darbey's dismay, not a single other member of his tribe had survived the nightmare. Upon returning to his jungle, there was no trace of any remain Orang-Pendaks. Graciously, his rescuers agreed to take him in and include him as one of their own in the guild. Learning at Uqion's right hand, Darbey discovered what the rest of the world had to offer, experiencing freedom for the first time, something denied him for what felt like an eternity. He took advantage of this freedom, rushing around to see new sights and try new things. He found that he had a taste for alcohol, a love of fine women, and a sincere joy in making other people smile. He had no problem making a fool of himself, there was no sense of shame in the Orang-Pendak. The main difficulty that came with his travels was dealing with the extreme heat coming off of his body. The runes continued to trap ambient magic wherever he want, and he would often spend many hours a day submerged in water, just trying to cool down. Uqion saw this is a limiter to his new friend's freedom, and so he ordered the construction of a set of ankle weights magically created to drain that power away from him, while helping him train to regain his lost strength and balance. Everything after that can be found in the histories of the Chorong. Appearance Darbey has neatly trimmed light orange fur that covers the majority of his body from head to toe. He keeps his facial hair clean shaven because he thinks the ladies like him more that way. His long head of hair is always kept in a pony tail for style reasons. His garment of choice is a blue and orange silken gi, and thanks to his success within the Chorong, he could afford to have it upgraded to the point that it is as good at protecting him as plate armor. His eyes are a lively yellow color, and there is always an energy flowing inside of them. He stands at only 5'8", and weighs 160 lbs, not at all an imposing figure. However, his extreme regeneration has caused his muscles to became incredibly dense, to the point that he has little difficult in lifting entire wagons, or leaping over buildings. These muscles just look toned, it is only once you touch them or see them at work that you realize what a power house the man is. The ankle weight also function as a sort of drain on his physical prowess, keeping the excess magic out of his body, and letting him live a more normal life. Personality A kinder hearted person is extremely rare to come by. He is genuinely concerned for the well being of everyone around him, and he will always go out of his way to help those in need, spending exorbitant amounts of money to pay for medical services rendered to those totally unable to afford them on their own, or helping retrieve stolen goods, or even just lending a helping hand when things become busy. As such, he is generally well liked wherever he goes, starting in a town's tavern, and ending in the outskirts of the town where the poor and destitute dwell. He does have an unfortunate habit of overtly flirting with any girl he finds attractive, and while most are able to take his good natured pick up lines in stride, it can be awkward, or sometimes downright inappropriate. Any lady who is willing to spend much time in his vicinity will find him a childish gentleman, often giving presents and compliments at any given chance. Friends Uqion Yujin - His oldest living friend, and leader of the Chorong. While the relationship they have wouldn't be called friendship by most, Darbey would gladly give his life for the man, and Uqion has shown the willingness to do the same in the past Ophelia - His favorite partner in the Chorong, going on many assignments together just for the chance to admire her gorgeous body skills. Isolia - A young dhampir who only recently joined the Chorong, Darbey has taken a liking to her because she has a friendly wolf guardian and a compassionate heart Enemies Any and all slave masters or abusers of the weak - Call it a hatred that is engrained into his DNA at this point Aspirations Rid the world of all forms of slavery and injustice down to the poor or weak. Other than that, find himself a smoking hot wife, have a lot of kids, and settle down in the jungle to start up a town. Nothing major. Trivia * Darbey actually dislikes bananas because it was the main food they were fed at the lab * Darbey's favorite color is sky blue, something he didn't get to see for years, followed by jungle green * Darbey's least favorite color is gray, it reminds him of the walls * Darbey loves the sound of pan pipes and bongos, not together though * Darbey's favorite animal is anything that will play with him * Darbey's favorite season is Autumn because it is a little more breezy and gets below 80 degrees sometimes * Don't take his ankle weights off Themesong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB-6TkUmimg - I'm gonna be honest here. I'm racist and this was picked because it had the word monkeys in the title. The variety does address his diversity of personality as well https://youtu.be/J-SUoHmpRdM - And then this one as well because the Journey to the West has never looked so good. All bow to the magic monkey.